Wardrobe-trunk.



G. HEILMAN.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7. 1912.

LWWWB. Patented Apr. 25,191

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH 120.. WASHINGTON. n. c.

G. HEILMAN.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

' APPLICATION FILED 0CT.?.19I2. Aq, Patented Apr. 25,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

-THE 0LuMBm PLANOGRAPH cc., WASHINGTON, D. c.

G. HEILMAN.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 1, 1912.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. *TI

orurr n GEORGE Harm/ran, or cr-rrcnso, ILLINOIS.

WARDROBE-TRUNK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

Application filed October 7, 1912. Serial N 0. 724,294.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE HEILMA-N, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wardrobe-Trunks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This inventionrelates to improvements in wardrobe trunks and consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings z--Figure 1 is a View rep resenting my improved wardrobe trunk in perspective when closed. Fig. 2 is a View representing a horizontal transverse section through the trunk. Fig. 3 is a perspective view representing my trunk when opened out ready to display its contents. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view through the bottom end wall of the trunk illustrating the way in which the edges of the parts thereof close together. Fig. 5 is a like sectional detail of the top. Fig. 6 is a view representing on an enlarged scale a transverse section through the locking mechanism of the trunk. Fig. 7 is a detail vertical sectional view showing the way of attaching to the top end of the trunk, the rod that constitutes the support for the hangers. Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are perspective views of metal parts to be referred to more particularly later on in the description.

Referring now to that embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, 11 indicates the trunk as a whole. Said trunk is adapted to stand up on end and is made in three sections,a main section 12 and two hinged sections 13, 13, which are alike. Said sections divide the trunk longitudinally in planes which extend through the lines in which the side walls and back wall of the trunk meet and through a common line in the front wall of the trunk intermediate the sides thereof and, as shown, half-way between.

The main trunk section 12 consists of a back wall 14, which is rectangular, and of top and bottom end members 15, 16, which are each substantially triangular in form. The hinged trunk sections 13, 13 each comprises a rectangular wall 17 extending lengthwise of the trunk and forming one side wall thereof; a rectangular wall 17 also extending lengthwise of the trunk and ar ranged at right angles to the first named wall and constituting a part of the front wall of the trunk; and top and bottom trianconnected to the back wall of the main trunksection 12 by any suitable hinged connection and, as shown, said hinged connection preferably consists of a long rod 20 running the full length of the trunk and of a plurality of metal hinge straps 21 attached in alternation to the back wall 14 of the main trunk section and tothe side wall 17 of the associated hinged trunk section. The abutting edges of the hinged sections and of the main trunk section are beveled so that the edge 22 of one part slides under the edge 23 of the other part and each of said edges has adjacent the bevel, shoulders 24 which abut when the trunk members are closed together, (see Figs. 4: and 5). In the case of the top end parts I prefer to provide fiat metal strips 24* secured as shown (Fig. 5) to the under side of the top end wall of the main trunk section said strips constituting fixed flanges thereon for engagement with the under side of the top end wall sections of the hinged trunk sections.

The top and bottom end walls 15, 16 of the main trunk section 12 are connected at their apexes by means of a rod or tube 25 which is embraced by the front wall sections 17 17 of the hinged trunk sections when said hinged sections are closed together on the main section. On the bottom end wall 16 there is fixed an inner false bottom wall 26 which is rectangular and which is nearly equal to the cross-sectional area of the trunk. To the lateral edges of said inner false bottom 26 are secured hinged flaps 27, 27 which are adapted to cocupy upright positions when the trunk is closed, as indicated in full lines in Fig. 3, but which are intended to be folded down to lie upon the bottom end wall sections 19,

. pending arms 32.

19 of the hinged trunk sections when :the trunk is open for display purposes. These hinged fiaps27 are ofsuch size that when thus folded down upon said endwall sections 19, 19, they will abut against the upright front wall sections 17 .17 of the 'members 30, 30 which meet in a horizontal line I running from front to back of the trunk and located a distance above the bottom wall of the trunk.

Said members are inclined downwardly away from said line, and are curved outwardly near their lower endswhere they meet the inner false bottom 26. The apex of the V-shape construction thus formed is preferably located in a .median plane of the trunk, but if desired itmaybe located at one side of said plane, depending upon the purpose for which the trunk is to be used, as will appear later.

. To the top end wall 15 of the main trunk section'there is attached a rod or tube 31.

Said rod or tube constitutes part of a support 31 for the hangers and is rigidly connected to said top end-wall by means of hangers 32- (see-Fig. 7). Saidhangers each havea vertical arm 32 depending from the top wall and a horizontal, laterally disposed arm 32 which is connected in any suitable manner to the rod 31 so that the hook of a hanger may be hung upon and moved along the rod 31 without striking the de- The rod is preferably made tubular, as shown, for purposes of lightness. To the ends of the fixed rod 31 are pivotally connected rod sections 33, 33 and 'to'them again are pivotally connected other rod sections 34, 3 1 which in turn are 'pivotally connected at their ends to the I front wall sections 17', 17" of the hinged trunk sections. The parts are so propor- "tioned that when the hinged trunksections are swung together-to close-the trunk, or apart to open the trunk, the rod sections swing on their hinged connections in a horizontal plane at the same time into a collapsed. posltion, as shown in 151g. 2, or into an alined or extended position, as indicated in Flg. 3. In the extended position the rod I, support comprising the several parts will be equal in length to the distance which separates-the front wall sections 17, 17 of the hinged trunk sections. The hinged connections of the 'rod sections are constructed so as not to interfere With-a sliding movementof the hanger hooks Whentherod tions are in extended, alined relation. The connectlon between the ends of the fixed rod section 31 and the adjacent ends of the H hinged rod sections 33, 33 is preferably made double by means of intermediate short ,parts 35, 35 which are pivotally connected to each of the rods 31 and 33 as plainly indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. a

The support 31 constituted by the sectional rod may be placed very close to the bottom surface of the top end wall of the trunk, since the hooks of the hangers may be placed on that part of the support which is exposed and left uncovered when the trunk is open where there is plenty of room to place the hangers on the support or to take them off. YVhen the hangers are assembled on the fixed part 31 of the support the hooks are in very close relation with the 'top wall of the trunk which tends to pre vent them from being dislodged in the jarring and bumping that the trunk receives in handling. In additlon, as the hinged rod sections 33, 33 extend alongside of but spaced from the fixed rod section 31 when the trunk is closed, it is apparent that these hinged sections will further protect the hangers from dislodgment as said rod sections will apparently he adjacent to the hooks of the hangers when the trunk is closed. (See Fig. 2.)

The inclined and curved members 30 act to support the bottom ends of long coats packed in the trunk, said coat ends lying smoothly on the inclined curved surface of said members. By reason of this construction it is possible to make the trunk considerably less in length than the length of the longest coats that are to be packed, and this feature of the construction is very important, particularly now that the railroads are charging excess baggage for trunks longer than a certain limited length. The shorter coats will hang free as heretofore. In addition, space at the upper end of my improved trunk is saved by reason of the fact that the supporting device for the hangers may be placed so close to the top end wall as above described.

WVhen all of the coats or other garments are within the main trunk section, the

.hinged false members 27 are folded upwardly against the lower end parts of the said garments and are then strapped in that position so as to snugly hold the garments in place. As shown, a horizontal bar 37 is fixed to the back wall of the trunk slightly below the level of the horizontal plane in which the ends of the hinged bottom members 27 will lie when folded up into vertical position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3.

Said bar is provided with one or more holes 38 at its ends adapted to receive one side member 39 of a U-shaped rod 4-0 and a mem ber 43 of a rod 43. The transverse member 40 of said U-bar and the rod 43 are each as long as the trunk is deep and has rigidly attached to it a strap 42 which extends alongside of it and each has a hole or opening through which said transverse member 40, in the one case and said rod 41-3, in the other case extends as clearly shown in Fig. 3. This provides a simple means for connecting the strap to the rod so that when one of its side members 39 is in one of the holes or openings in the bar 87 the transverse member 40 of the U-bar may be caused to engage the outer surface of the hinged bottom member 27 and the straps 4-2 of the two rods may be attached together by a buckle 4-2 so as to bind the hinged parts 27 against the coats or other garments packed in the trunk. The rod L3 to which the other strap 42 is connected consists of a single rod length with a transverse claw 43 attached to one end. Said claw is placed in one of the holes or openings 38 leaving the rod to project outwardly in engagement with the associated hinged member 27 at the bottom. I preferably provide in addition to the two rods mentioned a third rod sec tion 1-8 which may be placed in the trunk in any convenient position, as for example, in the compartment formed between the two inclined members 30. This rod 48 is provided at its ends with sockets L9, 50, one of which, 50, is adapted to receive the end of the rod 4-3, and the other of which, 49, is adapted to receive one of the side members 39 of the U-shaped rod 40. The rod 25 connecting the ends of the trunk is prefenbly made tubular and a hole or opening 50 is made in the top end wall of the trunk in line with the hole of said tube so that one side member 39 of the U-rod 40 may be inserted through the opening 50 into theupper end of the tubular rod 25 while its other side member 39 is placed in the socket 49 of the rod 18. The end of the rod 43 opposite the member 43* is then inserted into the socket 50 of the rod 48 with the member 43* in position resting on the floor. The parts when thus placed together form a support which is located above the end of the trunk and which may be used in displaying goods. The parts when in this position are shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The longer coats will be allowed to hang free without touching the floor when hung on this support.

A great advantage of my improved wardrobe trunk is that the coats or other garments after being replaced or when being originally packed in the trunk may be pushed over into the main trunk section on their hangers without rubbing the sleeves or sides of the garment against opposite side alls, as is the case in the present construction of wardrobe trunks. When the hinged members of the trunk are closed together they simply press against the sleeves of the coats or sides of the garments withoutrubfull lines, and which, when the trunk is opened, may be folded down upon the floor as shown in dotted lines.

A suitable lock is provided to draw the lunged sections together and to lock the same in closed position and I prefer to use the following construction for this purpose: The outer faces of the front wall members of the swinging trunk sections are provided adjacent their edges with reinforcing metal plates 52, 52. cured one member of the locking device and to the other plate is secured the other member of the same. 53 indicates a plate provided with a hooked flange 54 secured to one of the hinged. trunk sections and comprising one member of the locking device. The other member is indicated by 55 and comprises a fixed plate 56 rigidly attached to the associated hinged trunk section, a hinged plate 57 adapted to overlap the junction line of the two hinged sections, and a third plate 58 hinged to the free edge of the hinged plate 57. The latter plate is adapted to engage under the flange 54% of the fixed plate 53. All of these plates preferably run nearly the length of the trunk so as to produce a strong rigid construction. 60 indicates a hasp bar made rigid with the swinging plate 58 and provided with suitable devices 61 operated by a key for engagement with a familiar trunk lock 62. When the trunk sections are brought together the hinged plate 57 is swung over so as to overlap the junction line of the trunk section and the swinging plate 58 caused to 1 engage under the flange 53. By means of the hasp-bar the parts are then drawn together and the hasp-bar locked in position. This construction provides an efficient means for forcibly joining the parts of the trunk together when it is to be closed.

For convenience in opening the trunk the hinged sections are provided on their bottom walls with casters 71 which are arranged with their axes of rotation radial to the axis of the hinges of said sections so that they rill readily roll in the are of a circle about said axes when the hinged trunk sections are swung to open the trunk. Said casters ar made of such size that their bottoms of the While in describing my invention I have To one of said plates is sei referred to certain details of mechanical construction and arrangement, it is to be understood that my invention is to be in no sense limited thereto except as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention- 1. A wardrobe trunk comprising three sections, a main section and two hinged sections, all of which are substantially triangular in cross section, each hinged section being adapted when swung upon its hinges to have one of its longitudinal walls brought substantially into the same plane as that of the longitudinal wall of the main section, and a suspension fixture device in said Itrunk, said suspension fixture device being when said walls are all in the same plane.

2. A wardrobe trunk comprising a main section of a substantially triangular cross section and two hinged sections each of substantially triangular cross-section, the main section having a back wall and top and bottom end walls, said swinging sections each being hinged to the lateral. edges of said back wall and each having top and bottom end wall sections and two longitudinal wall sections, one adapted to form the side wall of the trunk and the other adapted to form a part of the front wall of the trunk and a suspension fixture device in said trunk comprising a fixed main section suspended from the top wall of the trunk and extending parallel to the back wall thereof, extensible sections one associated with and connected at one end to each hinged trunk section and operatively connected at the opposite ends to the ends of said fixed main section, said extensible sections being jointed intermediate their ends.

3. A wardrobe trunk comprising three sections each being substantially of triangular cross section and dividing said trunk longitudinally, one of said sections being a main section and having a wall constituting the back of the trunk and the other two sections being hinged to the lateral edges of said back wall, and a suspension fixture device in said trunk comprising a section fixed relative to the said main trunk section and extending parallel to the wall constituting the back of the trunk and foldable extension parts operatively connected to the fixed part of the extension device and to each hinged trunk section respectively.

4:. A wardrobe trunk comprising a main section and two hinged sections, said main section having a longitudinally extending back wall and triangular top and bottom end walls and the hinged sections comprising triangular end wall sections and longitudinally extending side and front wall sections, and a suspension fixture device in said trunk comprising a main section fixed to the triangular top wall of the main trunk section and extending parallel to the back Wall thereof, and foldable extension sections connected respectively at their ends to the ends of said fixed main section of the suspension devices and to front wall sections of eachhinged trunk section.

5. A wardrobe trunk comprising three sections, a main section and two hinged sections, all of which are substantially triangular in cross section, each hinged section being adapted when swung upon its hinges to have one of its longitudinal walls brought into the same plane as that of the longitudinal wall of the main section and its other longitudinal wall into a plane parallel with the corresponding longitudinal wall of the other hinged section, and a suspension fixture device in said trunk, said fixture device throughout its length extending in a plane parallel to the longitudinal wall of the main and hinged sections of the trunk when each of said hinged sections is in a position wherein one of its longitudinal wall sections is in the same plane as that of the longitudinal Wall of the main trunk section.

6. A wardrobe trunk comprising a main section and two hinged sections, dividing said trunk longitudinally, said main section having a longitudinally extending back wall and top and bottom end' walls, and the hinged sections comprising triangular end wall sections and longitudinally extending side and front wall sections, and a suspension fixture device in said trunk comprising a fixed rod or tube suspended from the top end wall of the main section and extending substantially parallel to the back wall. thereof, and extension devices adapted to be brought into alinement with said fixed rod or tube and to be supported within said hinged sections.

7. A wardrobe trunk comprising a main section and two hinged sections, dividing said trunk longitudinally, said main section having a longitudinally extending back wall and top and bottom end walls and the hinged sections each having triangular end wall sections and longitudinally extending side and front wall sections, and a suspension fixture device suspended within said trunk comprising a fixed member attached to the top end wall of the main trunk section and extension members hinged to the ends of said fixed member and connected to said hinged trunk sections, said extensions adapted to be folded together upon said fixed member when the hinged trunk sections are closed together.

8. A wardrobe trunk comprising a main trunk section and two hinged sections, said main trunk section having a longitudinally extending back wall and top and bottom end walls, and the hinged sections comprising end Wall sections and longitudinally extend- -ing side and front Wall sections, a down- Ward and laterally inclined member fixed to the bottom of the main trunk section adapted for the support of the garmentends and hinged flaps attached to the bottom Wall of the main trunk section and adapted to be folded to form a bottom Wall extension When the trunk is open and to be folded into a Vertical position to embrace the lower ends of the garments When the trunk is in closed position.

9. A Wardrobe trunk comprising a main trunk section and tWo hinged sections, said main trunk section having a longitudinally extending back Wall and top and bottom end Walls, and the hinged sections comprising end Wall sections and longitudinally extending side and front Wall sections, a down- Ward and laterally inclined member fixed to the bottom of the main trunk section adapted for the support of the garment-ends and hinged flaps attached to the bottom Wall of the main trunk section and adapted to be folded down to form a bottom wall extension when the trunk is open and to be folded into a Vertical position to embrace the lower ends of the garments When the trunk is in closed position, and straps adapted for drawing said flaps into closed engagement With the ends of the garments suspended Within said trunk.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses, this 2nd day of October, A. D. 1912.

GEORGE HEILMAN.

Witnesses:

GEORGE R. WILKINS, KARL W. DoLL.

Klopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

